The mother of a young girl in the midcoast writes to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund that as hard as she and her husband are working, they just need a little more help this Christmas.

“We are the proud parents of a wonderful 4-year-old daughter. My husband and I are both hardworking members of our community,” she wrote.

The girl’s mother has two part-time jobs and is a part-time college student. She gets some financial aid for school but she has “to make up the difference, which puts a financial strain on the family,” she wrote.

Her husband works full time and is now working side jobs to try to cover their expenses. But as hard as they try, they can’t keep up.

“We would be grateful for any assistance this year for our daughter,” she wrote.

The Portland Press Herald Toy Fund in the Spirit of Bruce Roberts is using donations from readers to provide toys to thousands of Maine children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts because of hardships faced by their parents. Bruce Roberts was the original pen name of the newspaper columnist who co-founded the fund in 1949.

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The fund – now in its 68th year – is accepting applications for toys from needy families in Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Androscoggin and Knox counties.

Applications can be downloaded at pressheraldtoyfund.org or picked up at the Press Herald’s Welcome Center at 295 Gannett Drive in South Portland. Call 791-6672 to have one mailed to you.

Donations to help buy the toys can be made at pressheraldtoyfund.org or by writing checks to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund and mailing them to the fund at P.O. Box 7310, Portland, ME 04112.

For more information, go to: pressheraldtoyfund.org.

See more stories about the fund.


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